The case is West Virginia v. B.P.J. and surrounds a lawsuit filed by the mother of transgender-identifying student Becky Pepper-Jackson against a state law barring males from competing in female sports. A lower court blocked the law pending appeal. Now, West Virginia is asking the High Court to answer whether Title IX prevents a state from consistently designating girls’ and boys’ sports teams based on biological sex, and whether the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
Bridgeport High School female student Adaleia Cross, who was reportedly a track and field teammate of Jackson’s when they attended Bridgeport Middle School, alleged in an interview with Fox News that the trans-identifying male made comments to her in the girls’ locker room that she considers sexual harassment. Fox News chose not to identify Jackson, citing his age, although his identity is well-known across the media and has been publicly shared by his attorneys.
Cross, who is a year ahead of Jackson, told the outlet she quit her track and field team at Bridgeport High School last year when she was a sophomore because she did not want to share a locker room with Jackson again. Cross’s mother, Abby, alleged to the outlet that when the transgender-identifying athlete was in seventh grade and her daughter was in eighth grade during the 2022-23 school year, he made threatening and sexually explicit comments to her in the locker room.
“When Adaleia first told us, she told us that [the trans athlete] was telling her and other girls ‘s— my d—,’” Abby Cross alleged. “[The trans athlete] was saying to her, coming up and saying to her, ‘I’m going to stick my d— in your p—- and also in your a–.’ At different times [the trans athlete] was saying these things to her.”
Adaleia’s mother and her father, Holden Cross, told the outlet they reported his alleged comments to the school but no action was taken.
The ACLU, which is representing Jackson, told the outlet that their client and his mother deny the allegations and said the school district investigated the allegations and “found them to be unsubstantiated.”
“We remain committed to defending the rights of all students under Title IX, including the right to a safe and inclusive learning environment free from harassment and discrimination,” the ACLU continued in a statement.
Fox News Digital reporter Jackson Thompson said he made repeated requests to the ACLU and the Harrison County School District seeking documentation related to the investigation or whether one occurred; he said his requests have not been met.
Attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) representing the Cross family responded to the ACLU’s statement, saying their client “has sworn under oath and under penalty of perjury in numerous cases about the events that took place between her and the male athlete.”
“As a result of the situation, [Cross] had to step away from the sport she loved entirely and sacrifice a key element of her school experience to protect herself,” said the ADF, which is also representing West Virginia in the Supreme Court case.
Another female student, former middle school girls’ track and field runner Emmy Salerno, is alleging that Jackson engaged in “intimidation tactics” against her after she refused to compete against him during an event in the 2024 spring season, according to the report.
Salerno first protested competing against him, along with four other girls, on April 18, 2024, when both she and Jackson were in eighth grade, the report details. All five girls declined to participate in the girls’ shot put competition that day, and Salerno alleged that her team was disqualified after the meet.
Salerno alleged that Jackson would subsequently stare her down at other public events.
“After we stepped out, it was an immediate personality change. He didn’t want to talk to me. He just wanted to stare at me, and just stare down,” Salerno told the outlet.
Salerno also gave the outlet a screenshot of a Snapchat post, allegedly from Jackson, featuring a picture of Salerno with a caption stating: “Reminder that she has more testosterone than me.”
Salerno additionally told the outlet there was an incident where Jackson followed her at a local basketball game and stared her down. She said she was worried the biological male would try to “fight” her.
“At the basketball game when he just followed me everywhere, I kind of felt like, ‘Is he gonna try to fight me?’” Salerno said. “‘Is he going to try and sneak up behind me and punch me?’”
Salerno and her father told the outlet they think patterns of social media posts and aggressive staring are all “intimidation tactics” and that they have caused her “lingering discomforts.”
“I’ve always tried to avoid him everywhere I went,” Salerno said.
The ACLU reportedly did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment about Salerno’s allegations.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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